Popularity Rules

by Shamika Lindsay

  “Avery, I would but my mother—”

  “I can butter her up,” she interjected again. “When can I meet her?”

  I stared at her, momentarily confused. Of course, she had met my mother already, regardless of however disoriented she was. “You did meet her,” I said precisely as if coaxing someone away from doing something unbearable stupid.

  Avery blanked for a moment before snapping her fingers in realization. “I didn’t meet her. I was shivering, and she gave me clothes. I barely even remember how she looks.”

  I exhaled deeply, relieved. If she hardly remembered anything about that morning that meant she didn’t remember how hostile my mother was.

  “I can’t make any decisions now,” I said, non-committal.

  “Just think about it, that’s all I need.”

  Chapter

  XIII

  Everyone was shouting greetings to Gina as we walked through the hall. I could see she thrived on all the attention she was getting; it made her happy. The matted hospital hair was now replaced by glossy, polished locks. Anyone who wasn’t an avid listener to the rumor mill might’ve assumed she just got back from an exotic vacation.

  Both our hands were piled high with books and reports of different calibers. It would’ve been difficult to make it through the crowded hallways if we were ‘nobody’s’. But, since we were at the top of the hierarchy, people offered to carry the books instead of knocking them from our hands for a good laugh. Being ‘somebody’s’ had its perks, I guess.

  Even without someone knocking the books out of our hands, Gina’s tethering pile fell onto the sea of feet, setting off a chain reaction for the rest of the books. Before either of us had the chance to retrieve them, gaggles of arms reached out to grab them for us. A battered newspaper was tossed to me and I caught it easily atop the piles of books.

  At first, it seemed like any other newspaper article, you know black and white and boring. But, a section marked with maniacal circling with a red marker caught my attention. The article at the top made my eyes widen:

  Star Athlete Uses Good Luck Charm

  I had a weird inkling I knew what this article was about, but before I could probe further, Gina motioned me with her shoulder to come along. I sighed deeply and complied; the library was only a few meters away anyway.

  “My parents are still looking into suing,” Gina said conversationally.

  I raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

  “Because,” she started as if I was insanely inept. “I was pushed into the pool. I could’ve suffered from a concussion. I think they’re justified, don’t you?”

  I wasn’t convinced but I nodded anyway. “I guess so. But who’re you going to get to sue them?”

  Gina snorted. “Your mother, who else? She’s experienced in that way isn’t she?”

  I ignored the jibe and turned to push the door open wider and let her pass me. My fingers were itching to get a hold of the paper and throbbing a bit from the excess weight. We dropped the books on the nearest desk we saw, and I snatched up the newspaper, happy that Gina’s head was buried in a couple of books. I unfolded the paper and my breathing hitched.

  It was a high definition picture in faded color of Avery’s lips pressed to my cheek. The date read the day after the swim meet. I had no idea who would’ve given this to her because I knew for a fact her parents were the high maintenance e-mail types that didn’t appreciate the nostalgia of newspapers.

  The red ink was circled so many times that it made an indentation on the paper. I looked over at Gina and tried to process how such an innocent-looking girl could do something like this without confronting me about it. It just seemed like a major diabolical plan was in play.

  “Gee,” I called, a little after I regained my breath. I was hoping that in some mysterious way, this was not hers.

  “Yeah,” she replied, standing up straight. Her eyes widened as she saw the paper. “You weren’t supposed to see that.”

  I averted my gaze to the paper, running my finger over the red crease. “Why didn’t you talk to me about this?”

  Gina rubbed her arms self-consciously. “I trust you, despite how this may seem.”

  “Yeah, that explains why you murdered the paper with the pen.”

  Before she could respond, the she-wolf herself strolled in with her arms opened wide. I immediately put two and two together. Whatever she had made me promise was obviously to protect herself and it made me feel grimy enough to have gone along with it in the first place.

  “Breanna put you up to this, didn’t she?” I demanded, stepping in between them.

  “I should be mad at you!” Gina shouted, trying to defend Breanna.

  I inhaled deeply and turned to face Gina. “You should know that your best friend,” awkward finger jab at Breanna, “tried to kiss me while you were in the hospital.”

  Breanna didn’t flinch; she merely narrowed her eyes at me and grabbed Gina’s shoulders, like she was preparing her for a wrestling match. “Remember what we practiced,” she coaxed her.

  Gina looked a bit torn, but she turned to face Breanna. She gave her an icy look before shrugging her hands off. “Stop it, both of you.” She turned to Breanna. “You are the one person I trusted the most. How could you have done this to me?”

  “Oh just stop with the whole self-righteous crap, nothing happened,” she retorted, earning us more inquisitive looks.

  “This whole thing is just stupid. Can we just sit down like civilized people and discuss this?”

  “No!” Gina shouted, making me flinch. “I will not let you walk over me again.”

  I was completely taken by surprise. “What?”

  “I think we need some time apart,” she said, not meeting my gaze.

  I didn’t respond. I tried to decipher if she was serious. Despite however often I questioned our compatibility, I didn’t think her breaking up with me would hit this hard. I felt as if I was having an out of body experience. It was surreal. I ran my hand through my hair and sighed. I was sure that my pain and disbelief was etched across my face.

  “Good job,” Breanna coerced from behind her. “I never thought you had it in you.”

  Gina kept her gaze on the floor. “I don’t think we can be friends anymore either.”

  I didn’t wait around to hear Breanna’s retort; even if I wanted to, my feet wouldn’t let me. It felt like they were taking over the role of my brain and making decisions. Everyone was watching me as if I was a ticking time bomb; I was getting sympathetic glances from everyone in a ten-meter radius. And everyone else who got confirmation texts about what happened.

  Going to class now was neither a thought nor an option in my mind. I knew I’d probably get infinite detentions for walking out of school in full view of everyone, but I was numb beyond coherent thought. I made my way to my car. I thought this was what I wanted for so long, but it turns out I couldn’t diagnose properly what was good for me. I stared at my reflection in the glossy black paint. I looked deranged; I could see it. I clamped my eyes shut and pulled my hand back with as much force as I could muster before hitting the van door, gaining an effective groan from my mouth in the process.

  My hand throbbed but it released a little of the frustration I had pent up. I sighed as I got a glimpse of the small dent my hand made in the door. I roughly flung the door open and climbed in before slamming it behind me. There was an ever-growing crowd watching me and making remarks. I wanted to flip them off. But I didn’t; I had a reputation to uphold after all.

  I wasn’t even sure where I was heading until I saw a turn in for a coffee shop. I instinctively turned in and found a close parking spot. Inside reeked of stale coffee and over-used oil. But, for some reason, it was comforting to me.

  The plush seats weren’t as soft as they appeared and barely sank under my weight. A middle-aged waitress approached me, her pen poised to write.

  “A cup of coffee—black please,” I muttered absently.

  She narrowed her eyes at me. “S
houldn’t you be in school?”

  I met her eyes with cold, uncaring ones. “A cup of coffee—black please,” I repeated, enunciating every word.

  The waitress sighed heavily and scribbled something on the notepad before hurrying away. I felt a little bad for being rude to her, but my thoughts were hazy. I was situated directly facing the door, so you can understand my ‘please let me kill you’ expression as my eyes landed on Marc.

  “Can’t I have a minute alone?” I hissed as soon as he was in hearing range.

  Marc sat in front of me wordlessly and measured me with his eyes. “Relax, why don’t you?”

  The waitress walked up to us with a steaming cup of coffee and I resisted the urge to shove it out of her hands and into Marc’s smirking face. I took the cup from her and enclosed my hands around it.

  “Whoa, that’s a pretty nasty bruise,” he commented, gesturing to my knuckles. “You’re pretty torn up about this, aren’t you?”

  I raised my eyes from the black, steaming liquid and sighed. “What’s wrong with me. Wasn’t this what I wanted?”

  “There’s a difference between what we want and what we need.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  My phone rang shrilly interrupting whatever snarky comment Marc was planning to give.

  “Hello?” I muttered, urging Marc not to speak.

  “Sweetie, I heard what happened, I’m so sorry.”

  I pulled the phone from my ear and gave it a long hard look. Was I hearing things? What was my mother sorry about? “Uh, what are you talking about?”

  She sighed heavily into the receiver. “I heard about you and Gina.”

  I pulled the phone away from my ear again as my brows scrunched in surprise. “Who told you about that?”

  “That doesn’t matter; just know that we’re here for you.”

  “Thanks, I guess,” I replied, before hanging up.

  My own parents were a part of the rumor mill. I shook my head and laughed without humor.

  "Has he gotten crazy too?” I heard a familiar voice ask.

  I jumped a bit as I saw not one person but two. “Can you get any creepier?” I snapped, fidgeting in my seat.

  “I love you too babe,” she remarked sarcastically.

  Marc chuckled at my annoyance and high-fived Avery. It seemed she was showing up everywhere and I couldn’t deal with it. She was probably the reason my long-term relationship was in shambles.

  “I’d really like to be alone,” I said calmly to the wooden table.

  Avery snorted and nudged Marc. “He said he wants to be alone.”

  I groaned and held my face between my palms. This was getting annoying. I was startled when I heard Avery’s gasp. I felt her cold clammy fingers pull my hand away from my face. Her hands felt foreign and surprisingly soft. I watched as she ran her fingers over the sore spot on my knuckles.

  She raised her head and concern was etched all across her face. “I didn’t know this was hurting you this badly. I thought you would’ve wanted this.”

  I flexed my hand, but she tightened her grip even more. I looked over at Marc who was watching us curiously. “There’s a difference between what we want and what we need.”

  Avery’s brows pulled together. “Well, I just assumed that—”

  “Stop making assumptions then,” I snapped, making Marc flinch noticeably and Avery pull her hand back. Mine slumped lifelessly on the table. “Uh… who took you here?” I asked Avery quickly.

  I already knew the answer and she knew I did, but she stared emotionlessly at me. “Dylan,” she said precisely, not even blinking.

  “And why did he leave you here?” I pressed.

  “I had to check on a friend.”

  “Wow, that makes sense,” I retorted sarcastically. “A male friend.”

  Avery stood and pointed her finger in my face. “Don’t think for a minute that Dylan has any competition with you. I prefer guys who are not egotistical.”

  I watched as she pushed by Marc and turned to shoot me the finger. I sighed and shook my head at the table. It was only 9:00 a.m. and she already reverted to hating me.

  “You were right about the bipolar thing,” Marc noted.

  I nodded and watched as she walked out of the parking lot and onto the road. I took a deep drink of coffee and sighed heavily. I wasn’t sure what I was miserable about now. “That’s one of her most endearing qualities, I guess.”

  Chapter

  XIV

  For some strange reason, I kept hearing indistinct sounds from around me and I would flinch. If a director of a movie wanted a place to film a horribly grotesque killing, this would be it. I had to step over tires strewn all about the place; I didn’t even know we had a junkyard here in town. My eyes hadn’t gotten used to the midnight-looking darkness, but I tried very hard not to make a sound or the wrong move because things would inevitably end badly. It wasn’t as if I had a weapon or something like that; all I had were my lousy car keys with the oblong key chain I’ve grown accustomed to toying with.

  I maneuvered my way around the twisted metal that appeared to be a car bumper and blinked rapidly at the silhouette of a metal shed, it seemed pretty deserted to me, but I couldn’t help but stare at it. Something about it was fascinating. Abruptly, a blinding light was turned on, making me momentarily blind. I braced myself for whatever blow was due to meet me. I wondered briefly if I was right about Avery actually conjuring some elaborate plan to harm me.

  I did what any sane human being would do and blindly formed fists in front of my face. Even if I was rusty, I knew I had to fight my way out.

  --------- 2 hours earlier --------

  I hung up the phone with an annoyed sigh as I ended a conversation with Stacey Kane. She was one of the many girls who wouldn’t give my phone a break. They’d all constantly work on their best demure voices and offer me a date. It was easy to decline because of how accustomed I had gotten to it since I was dating Gina.

  My heart throbbed uncontrollably at the thought of her. I still hadn’t fully come to terms with her breaking up with me—now a week later. I turned the tap on and watched the water fill the sink. I stared at my reflection and wondered what the hell my problem was. I had so many girls pining over me and yet, I was still hung up on one who left me and one who hated my guts 75% of the time.

  “I’m going out,” I heard a voice behind me call.

  I snapped the tap off and turned around slowly. “No, you’re not,” I replied emotionlessly.

  Jade approached me slowly as if trying to look menacing. “Yes, I am.”

  I used the kitchen towel to dry my hands. “Fine, if you want to go by all means go.”

  She looked startled. “Really?”

  “I hope you’ll be saying ‘really’ when you get back and find all the doors locked. But, you can sleep at one of your bad-boy boyfriend’s house, right?” I muttered nonchalantly, happy that my parents wouldn’t be home for the night to stop me.

  Jade narrowed her eyes at me and threw her purse on the table. “You’re such an unbearable ass!” she exclaimed, storming out of the kitchen.

  “I know,” I retorted with a grin.

  My mind flashed to Avery as soon as I considered the idea of someone hating me. She was an excellent example of someone who hated me but with her, the motive was odd to pin down. She hated me then tolerated me then rinse and repeat. Jade, on the other, hand hated me every chance she got.

  I was about to start the dishes when I heard a light rapping on the door. If it was one of Jade’s boy-toys, I’d hit them right in the nose without remorse. The scowl on my face was erased immediately as soon as I opened the door. I expected to see a tall, shady guy, but instead my eyes met a tall girl with bright eyes.

  My mouth hung open as I took in her caramel-colored locks piled atop her head and her shiny teeth that stood out against the red of her lips and golden shimmer of her skin. I took in her clothing with one blink, white cropped t-shirt, blue denim shorts and co
nverse sneakers. She looked different from what I was used to, remarkably so.

  “Um, is there something wrong?” she asked, looking down at her clothes. “Is my clothing too revealing?”

  My mouth exhaled one word. “Wow.”

  She raised a brow at me, open-mouthed before letting out a breathy chuckle. “Huh, Marc did say what a charmer you were.”

  I closed my mouth before we both drowned in my drool. I tried my best to look cool after my incredible loser moment. “Oh, you’re Marc’s friend.”

  She shrugged and kept an easy smile on her face. “That’s a loose interpretation of it.”

  I chuckled and couldn’t stop myself from admiring her infectious smile. “What can I do for you?”

  She gestured to a huge Chemistry book in her hand. “Marc did say you were good at this. I kind of need all the help I can get.”

  I nodded knowingly; good at Chemistry my ass. This was a set-up; I couldn’t tell if I was irritated or thankful. I opened the door wider to allow her to enter. If I wanted someone to take my mind off Avery, she was perfect. I inhaled the rich peach-flavored scent she possessed and led her to the kitchen.

  “Uh, I hope you don’t mind but I was cleaning up.”

  She shook her head. “No, your house looks amazing.”

  I smiled and realized something. “I haven’t gotten your name.”

  “I’m Chantal,” she said, extending her hand for me to shake.

  I shook it and marveled at how soft her hands were. “Give me a minute,” I muttered, completely star-struck. “I’ve got to finish the dishes.”

  Chantal muttered a small ‘okay’ and I headed over to the sink. After a moment, she came over to where I was and began rinsing the dishes.

  “Guests aren’t supposed to do housework,” I remarked, completely stunned. The girls at school would always complain about what dishwater did to their nails.

  She shrugged. “It’s a bit awkward watching you do all the work.”

  I couldn’t hide my astonishment. I kept quiet though and kept admiring the precise movement of her hands. For a moment, she reminded me of Avery and how interesting I’d immediately found her. I felt a twinge of something I couldn’t quite place. Here I was with an extremely gorgeous girl and I was still thinking about a girl who had blown me off for an entire week.